On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission voted to defend net neutrality by the slim vote of 3-2.
Net neutrality has been a hot topic of discussion recently — essentially, it means Internet Service Providers (ISP's) will be unable to control the speed of the Internet depending on the host of the webpage. Regardless of what you can read on MSNBC (owned by Comcast), this was a monumentally important and beneficial decision by the FCC.
Make no mistake; defending net neutrality essentially defends the First Amendment protection of freedom of speech. If ISP’s were allowed to strangle access to webpages they don’t like, our ability to freely access and communicate with each other would be severely hindered.
This was a very important victory for the support of an open and free Internet. Yet there is little doubt that the large cable and Internet conglomerates will continue to work toward restricting Internet access, even in the wake of the Open Internet Order.
The fact that the FCC vote was so close, 3-2, shows that the fight is still far from over.
The margin could not have been slimmer, and I fear that I was all too close to writing this column on a much more somber note, while having much slower access to the websites that support net neutrality.
If the Open Internet Order didn’t pass, I might have not been able to gather my sources and make a solid argument for net neutrality because the ISP conglomerates could’ve strangled out my access.
Thankfully, the FCC made the right decision, and I was able to freely read the opinions that Comcast and Verizon certainly didn’t like. And, now that the Open Internet Order has passed, you as the reader will be able to read this column online without your ISP restricting your access.
Thursday was a monumental victory, no matter how slim it was. Although I would’ve been more comfortable with a 5-0 vote, 3-2 ensures the same result.
Net neutrality has been in the public eye for a few weeks, which inevitably means the public will lose interest in this topic soon.
But it is important to know that, even with the passage of the Open Internet Order, the battle for a free and open Internet is not over.
While the Open Internet Order was a great victory, but it is important to remember that the margin was incredibly slim. This was yet another step to an open and public Internet, and hopefully we will reach that goal one day soon.
Right now, I'm happy to know that it did not take hours to research the opinions the large conglomerates do not like.